Mimosa Arrie Nel Pharmacy

After 27 years as loyal customers of Mimosa Pharmacy—long before it became part of the Arrie Nel Group—my husband and I have finally reached the point where we can no longer justify supporting this pharmacy.

For the third consecutive month, I have struggled to obtain my chronic blood pressure medication (Mylacand/Atacand). I know for a fact that Transpharm Pretoria has stock available, yet the pharmacy repeatedly tells me they cannot obtain it.

The final straw was the complete lack of customer service over the past two days. After phoning three times, I was eventually informed that my medication had not been ordered because my chronic prescription had expired. The previous day, I had already been told about the expired prescription and clearly explained that I would obtain a new repeat prescription and bring it with me when collecting my medication. This has never been a problem in the past, and I have always honoured my commitment to provide the updated prescription.

Instead of assisting a loyal customer by ordering the medication so it would be available once I brought in the new prescription, the pharmacy simply chose not to order it, leaving me without my essential blood pressure treatment for three days. This is not only unacceptable customer service but also demonstrates a concerning lack of understanding of the importance of uninterrupted chronic medication.

What made the experience even more frustrating was that staff members appeared to blame one another for the poor service rather than taking ownership of the situation or finding a solution. As a customer, it is disheartening to be caught in the middle of internal communication failures.

After 27 years of loyal support and many years of purchasing our monthly chronic medication from this pharmacy, I expected far better. Instead, I was made to feel as though I was trying to obtain medication improperly, despite my long-standing relationship with the pharmacy and my clear explanation of the situation.

Moments like these make me truly miss the days when the pharmacy was owned by Mr. J, when Lindy was there as the pharmacy assistant, and when Frik was the pharmacist. They knew their customers, took pride in providing excellent service, and understood the importance of continuity of care. Sadly, that level of personal service and accountability appears to have disappeared.

If it were possible, I would give zero stars. Unfortunately, that is not an option.

This experience has convinced my husband and me to take our business elsewhere. After 27 years of loyalty, it is deeply disappointing to discover that loyalty no longer seems to count for anything.